Marcus Slaughter articles (one of our SPL players)

Press Enterprise: His family and friends waited for his name to be called.

They waited three hours through the first round of the NBA draft Wednesday night, and then they waited two hours more. In the end, it went the way the draft gurus suggested it would, not the way Mom dreamed it would.

"He's going soon, going soon, top 20," said Latanya Green, mother of Riverside native Marcus Slaughter, often talking to the television in her home, where three dozen well-wishers gathered in hopes of celebrating Slaughter's welcome to the NBA.

It will have to wait. After nearly five hours and 60 picks, the former San Diego State forward went undrafted and will have to take another route to the league.

In 1995, Green said, a friend with a vision told her one of her four sons would be an NBA player.

"We all thought it would be Jemall," she said of her second son, who led Fontana High School to a CIF title before being shot and killed a year later in 1996 in a dispute by the father of his girlfriend.

"It turned out she was talking about Marcus," said Green, who had outfitted some of her guests with T-shirts depicting Jemall's image on the back and Marcus' on the front.

Slaughter, who left San Diego State this spring after his junior year, watched the draft from his apartment in Santa Monica with a smaller group of family and friends.

While Slaughter stayed cool and calm -- "Just another day," he deadpanned by phone -- family got nervous for him.

"He's always cool, that's just Marcus," said older brother Reggie Slaughter, helping to host his mother's party.

Said Green: "I'm usually calm, like Marcus, but this is different. Tonight is for him. I wanted this for him."

Despite his being bypassed in the two rounds of the draft, no one in his circle believes Slaughter's NBA dream has been extinguished. He could sign a free-agent contract, or at least command an invitation to a preseason camp.

"Enough people know he's got an NBA game," said Mitchell Butler, who handles Slaughter for agent Dan [Swearing is not permitted at Clublakers. You must edit this post prior to submitting.], earlier in the day. "If he doesn't go (in the draft), we'll take a day or two and see what offers work best for him."


LaTanya Green, mother of Marcus Slaughter, reacts after her son's name doesn't get called in the two rounds of Wednesday's NBA draft.

BDG wrote:This guy's intriguing ... I'm interested in what he brings tomorrow.

Union Tribune: Marcus Slaughter's introduction to professional basketball has been humbling.

First, he went undrafted. Now, he's gone unrecognized.

San Diego State's expatriate forward probably left campus prematurely, but he certainly deserved a better fate than the statisticians accorded him in his Pro Summer League debut yesterday afternoon.

Slaughter's box score line showed two missed field goals, two missed free throws and oddly omitted the one basket he actually made – a nifty reverse layup indicative of rare agility.

No matter. If Slaughter is to land a job with the Los Angeles Lakers, it will be because of his stops rather than his points.

“In college, you come in and you're a scorer,” Slaughter said. “Then, when you get to the next level, they've got like five people who can score 20 points – especially on this team when you've got Kobe Bryant.

“They're not looking for somebody to score. (Lakers coach) Phil Jackson is looking for somebody who can run the offense, somebody who plays great defense and just follows the game plan. That's what I'm trying to do. My whole philosophy of scoring has changed.”

Aztecs fans familiar with Slaughter's collegiate game would have recognized his long-armed athleticism and his short shooting range during the Summer League Lakers' 89-87 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. But they might have been surprised by the effort he expended on the defensive end and, especially, by his willingness to take charges.

Slaughter was a star on Montezuma Mesa, an all-conference player who often carried the Aztecs with his assertive scoring. Here, however, he is a glorified grunt, a fringe free agent who has embraced sacrifice and sublimated ego to establish a positive impression. He is wearing No. 40 now because the Lakers have already retired No. 42 in honor of James Worthy.
“I'll be fine with that,” he said, “as long as you get a number.”

As if to underscore his capacity for sacrifice, Slaughter left the locker room with ice packs on both knees following yesterday's game. If bruising defense represents his golden ticket to the National Basketball Association, Slaughter says he is ready for the rigors of role-playing.

The Lakers have five players already under contract on their Summer League squad, and those five were the starters for yesterday's game. If Slaughter is to earn so much as an invitation to training camp, he will likely need to outperform players the Lakers are already paying. He's going to have to reinvent his game and find a role no one else can perform as adeptly.

Such a showing is surely certainly possible, but the circumstances would not seem conducive. The undrafted free agent begins with a ponderous burden of proof. He must establish himself in limited opportunities and change minds that are already essentially basically made up.

Playing time usually provides a pretty strong clue about a player's position in the pecking order. Slaughter logged a little more than 12 minutes yesterday, only the 10th-highest total among the 12 Lakers who played, and he was credited (incorrectly) with no points and (correctly) with no rebounds.

But Slaughter also contributed two steals, an assist and agreed to get trampled for the sake of a couple of charging calls. He played his defense proudly, and his wide wingspan proved a formidable weapon in the passing lanes.

“He's done a good job,” said Kurt Rambis, the Lakers' summer league coach. “In the minicamp we've had – five days of practice – he's picked up the offense as well as can be expected. He plays hard. He's doing the things you ask him to do. He's a unique ballplayer because of his athleticism.”

What's missing, Rambis said, is the same thing Slaughter might have improved with another year of college seasoning: perimeter marksmanship.

“He's got to develop a little bit of a shot for himself,” Rambis said. “He needs an outside shot (and) some post moves inside.”

Odds are, Marcus Slaughter will be obliged to expand his repertoire during an apprenticeship in the NBA's development league or in Europe. Odds are also that he's ready to concede nothing.

“You're probably a little disappointed at first (about not being drafted), but it's all an ego thing,” Slaughter said. “There are a lot of people who get drafted who don't play. So I'm just going to have to work a lot harder than a lot of other people. Once I make it, it will be a lot better for me because I earned it – not because it was given to me or that it was easy for me.”